During a press conference Monday, Oct. 9, at the Lake Shore Cafe, 4900 S. Lake Shore Drive, Cook County Board President and longtime Hyde Park resident Toni Preckwinkle explains how the soda tax not only has health benefits but will also provide desperately needed revenue. – Owen M. Lawson III

By JOSEPH PHILLIPS
Staff Writer

With nearly 90 percent of Cook County residents in opposition to the beverage tax, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle warned of steep cuts to come if the controversial pop tax is repealed Tuesday.

“It’s not the issue that solves the budget deficit,” said Preckwinkle about the issues sweet beverages cause such as obesity, heart disease and tooth decay. “It’s the revenue.”

Preckwinkle said that the county raises money in a variety of ways, some through property taxes, sales taxes, taxes on cigarettes and taxes on alcohol, and that a beverage tax is just one that the county imposes to meet its budget obligations.

“I think it’s easier for most people to understand where their city dollars go,” Preckwinkle said. “For the county, it’s quite different.”

Preckwinkle said that almost half of the county’s budget expenses go toward healthcare and public safety. With 46 percent allocated to health and hospital systems and 41 percent allocated to public safety.

“Stroger and Providence are our two hospitals,” Preckwinkle said. “We have 16 clinics and 16 ambulatory clinics. With mostly primary care with a few specialty care clinics.”

Preckwinkle said that the county currently runs a Medicaid expansion program called County Care, which provides patient care for 140 thousand people and will increase to 225 thousand people by the end of this year if results change in the way the state runs its program.

“That’s the Medicaid expansion program that is a part of the Affordable Care Act where people 19-64 get health care coverage through the federal government based on the state eligible voter requirements, in addition to income eligibility,” Preckwinkle said.
Preckwinkle said she imposed the beverage tax because of needed revenue and an answer for public health benefits. She said before imposing the tax in Cook County, the tax was already imposed in other parts of the country such as Philadelphia and most recently, Berkley, Calif. and Seattle.

“It’s a movement around the country and at the time I quoted the World Health Organization back in October of 2016, a study recommended that nations, states, and local unions of governments put taxes on sweet and beverages because of the negative effects it has on health,” Preckwinkle said.

Preckwinkle said that it’s more of a global issue than it is a local issue and that countries such as Mexico have already imposed a nationwide sweet beverage tax.

When it comes to taxing sweetened beverages, Preckwinkle said a result of irrefutable scientific evidence that shows the consumption of sweetened beverage healthy and that the county’s health and hospital system spends about 200 million dollars a year treating obesity, diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay, which are directly impacted by sugar.

She explained that in spite of all the different challenges that may come her way during the March 2018 Democratic Primary, she intends to run for re-election.

She also said that she would appeal should legislators decide to vote against the tax on Tuesday.

“It means we will have a $200 million hole in our budget and we’re really challenged in terms of delivering health care services, and our criminal justice reforms,” Preckwinkle said. “We’ve worked hard to reduce the number of people in our jails. So let me start with whose in jail it’s basically black and brown poor people.”

2 Comments

Lol PreckwinkleOctober 10, 2017 @ 9:06 am

Preckwinkle is clueless…this is not how the real world works. Everyday citizens when they are faced with the realization that they do not have the money for something have two decisions, either make sacrifices or go find a new job that will pay better. Preckwinkle’s only solution is to try and tap into the blank check of the tax payers. How about you make some cuts…there are some 2,000+ county workers making over $100K per year.

News flash this situation is a result of your mismanagement of funds…tax payers are sick of funding your ineptitude as they know the money will be squandered or in some cases find it in the pockets of Preckwinkle and her allies.

Repeal this tax and then vote this clown out of office come the election! 90% oppose this tax, aren’t you supposed to be representing the people as an elected official? So glad we have an epitome of health and fitness in Miss Preckwinkle telling us what we should and should not be drinking. If this is a health issue for children the blame falls on the parents for allowing them to drink items with sugar in them

IF Toni Preckwinkle and Arnold Randall would wake up and smell the coffeee, they would finally realize that the MOST IMPORTANT thing that Cook County residents, and especially Chicagoans NEED, is for better athletic facilities to help locals get fit…The reason for such HIGH levels of various diseases that hurt ALL the local communities is that Chicagoans for 75 years haven’t been exercising like MOST communities across the country. Building another 25-30 400 meter tracks would give students a better chance of understanding that their live depend on exercise, not just as children and teenagers, but as adults for their entire lives….Various Cook County Forest Preserves areas should have 400 meter tracks, both to serve the adults and schools that don’t have them…